Assessing the Knowledge, Assessment, and Practices among Adolescent Girls on Menstrual Cycle and Management of Menstrual Hygiene

The objectives of this study were (1) to enumerate the common menstrual morbidities among girls, (2) to study the knowledge and attitude toward menstruation among adolescent girls (3) to elicit their health-seeking behavior regarding menstrual health, and (4) to study the practices of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls. Menstruation is a phenomenon that is the cyclic shedding of endometrium and is the most important physical change that occurs among girls during adolescence. In India, the lack of safe sanitary facilities and a narrow approach to products of sanitary hygiene lead to an increase in adopting unhygienic practices in managing menstruation. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital, located in Vijayawada, from June 2019 to April 2020 by interviewing 417 adolescent school girls using a semi-structured questionnaire. The mean age and standard deviation of girls included in the study were 14.7 years ± 2.69. 62.6 % of girls had the right perception about menstruation as a normal physiological process. Only 33.6 % of girls knew about menstruation before menarche. 32% of girls answered that they were scared when they attained first menarche. 50.6 % of girls knew that infection would occur if they do not clean their vagina regularly during menstruation.78% of girls used sanitary pads during menstruation. Dysmenorrhea,58% is the common menstrual morbidity. Only 11% of girls said that they had no restrictions during menstruation. The girls interviewed, are of unsatisfactory knowledge and markable good practices regarding menstrual health.